Conveyor solutions are known for the unloading of a load space, which are installed permanently on the bottom of the load space. Part of the capacity of the load space and the load-bearing capacity of the vehicle is then lost. In some embodiments, even the floor of the load space or even the structure of the vehicle's chassis needs to be altered, so that lifting beams can be put under the load. In addition, when an unloading operation is desired a conveyor must be installed on the bottom of the load space, which represents high costs. There also exist various automatic fork-lift trucks or manipulators, which, on the basis of precise positioning, machine vision, or both can move one, or a maximum of two, pallets at a time out of the load space. The load can also be without a pallet, for example, large paper reels. An automatic fork-lift truck is expensive and the unloading of the load space is slow.
EP application publication 1967484 discloses a chain-like lifting element, which can be taken under a pallet, more specifically inside a pallet. The lifting element is formed of motorized units, which are attached to each other by flexible links. The distance of the units from each other can then be adjusted. In the embodiments, two parallel lifting elements are taken under a pallet. Then by operating the lifting elements the pallet is lifted off the base and the motorized units are used to take the pallet into the load space. In the load space, the pallet is lowered and the lifting elements are taken out of the load space. The pallet can be retrieved from the load space in a similar manner. The lifting element described is complex and demands a great deal of space. Each motorized unit is also complex and requires energy to be conducted through the flexible links.